Sir Richard Branson will be paid £100,000 a year for his post as honorary president of Virgin Mobile, while the flotation of the company this month will pay chief executive Tom Alexander almost £20m in cash and shares.

Britain's fifth largest mobile phone company yesterday set a price range of 235p-285p for its flotation, which would value the business at £588m-£713m. After taking into account debts, the business could be worth up to £1bn.

The valuation is at the lower end of what the market had expected, leading analysts to conclude the issue had been "priced to go" as Sir Richard's empire returns to the London market after an 18-year hiatus. Last night spread betting firm IG Index was forecasting a price of 248p-258p.

Virgin Group is selling a maximum of 43% of the business to raise up to £279m. In addition it has already taken a £190m "payment" from its mobile offshoot and been repaid a £40m shareholder loan, taking Sir Richard's total payback from the five-year-old company to more than £500m.

With repayment of a £190m shareholder loan from net work partner T-Mobile and allowance for its day-to-day working capital, Virgin Mobile has been saddled with £311m of debt for the flotation.

About 6% of the company's shares are being retained for its 1,400 staff, who will receive an average£750. But 60 of the original employees will share a cash bonus pot of £23.5m, according to Virgin Mobile's prospectus, published today.

Mr Alexander, who helped create the business in a one-room office in Euston in 1999, will pick up the lion's share of £6.4m.

Virgin Group is also spending £12m buying back part of the stakes in the business held by management, which will see Mr Alexander receive another £7m. The remainder of the managers' stakes will be converted into new shares. Alongside a share option package as part of his remuneration, Mr Alexander will hold about 1% of Virgin Mobile after the flotation, worth £6m.

"I should do relatively well out of this," he said yesterday.

Sir Richard's salary is being paid to his Virgin Management organisation and he is understood to be considering donating it to charity.